EC to finish Gazprom probe in spring - commissioner
The European Commission plans to complete its investigation into the activities of Russian gas giant Gazprom in Central and Eastern Europe in the spring of 2014, European Union Energy Commission Gunther Oettinger told BNS.
The investigation is continuing and the EC needs a few more months, he said, adding that it is objective and not politically motivated.
Oettinger acknowledged that Gazprom is an important partner for Europe, but dependence on a single supplier can also have political overtones. Gazprom and Russia are key partners who have exported gas, oil, uranium and coal to EU markets for decades, but the Russian partners have a different cultural and political understanding, he said.
Competition benefits consumers, so the EU's goal is to have two or more suppliers in order to avoid dependence that could be influenced by politics, Oettinger said at a conference on the EU energy market in Vilnius.
He said planned energy infrastructure projects aimed at integrating European energy networks are not directed against Gazprom. The projects are in the common interest and the idea to unify infrastructure throughout Europe is not aimed at Gazprom, which will continue to play its role in coming decades, Oettinger said.
The EU wants to see more competition within Russia, have several suppliers and competition on an integrated European market, like on the food, textiles, automobile, pharmaceutical and wine markets, Oettinger said.
Lithuanian Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovic said that the implementation of the EU's Third Energy Package is still the subject of negotiations with the Russian gas company. There are fairly good conditions for reaching an agreement on how to implement the Third Energy Package in Lithuania while meeting the country's interests and those of the monopoly supplier, the minister said.
The ball is in Gazprom's court and Lithuania is prepared to continue playing this game in order to reduce prices for Lithuanian consumers and resolve transit problems - in the implementation of the Third Energy Package and transit to Kaliningrad, above all prices for consumers, Neverovic said.
Brussels said earlier that the EC plans to soon officially inform Gazprom of the charges that will be filed as a result of the investigation and in regard to possible illegal gas prices for Lithuania and other EU member countries. The EC launched the probe into Gazprom's gas prices in September 2012.
The EC said it suspects Gazprom of three anti-competitive practices dividing gas markets by hindering the free flow of gas across the EU, hindering diversification of gas supplies and setting unfair prices for its customers by linking the price of gas to oil prices.
